Air conditioning apparatus



July 30, 1940. M C.`TERRY 2,209,800

AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS Filed oct. 21, 193'/ s .sheets-sheet 1...IWHWHIMWMMMWW I www S ....HunnnI IH Ii w NN N .www

July 30; 1940- M. c. TERRY AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS Filed oct. 21.1937 s .sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR Mqafvey 25 BY ,l l

1/1A RNEY C.` TERRY AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 21,' 1937 3Sheets-Sheet 5 v w me n TE N N R EC le ww f n l0 /f/.A m@ 4 July 30,1940.

Patented July 30, 1940 AIR. CONDITIONING APPARATUS Matson C. Terry, NewRochelle, N. Y., assis-nor, by mesne assignments, to American Radiator &Standard Sanitary Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation ofDelaware Application October 21, 1937, Serial No. 170,159

9 Claims.

My invention relates to air conditioning appa- Aratus, and moreparticularly to mechanism for regulating the amount of outside airflowing into a room space in accordance with the requirements of theroom space and in accordance with the operation of a conditioning means.

An object of this invention is to provide apparatus of this type whichmay be readily adjusted by hand to regulate accurately the desired l.amount of outside air introduced'into the room space; and which, whenthe conditioning means is inoperative from any cause, will operate toprevent further introduction of outside air into the room.

Il A further object is to provide apparatus of the above type which isof improved construction and arrangement of parts.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination ofparts, to be more fully 20 described hereinafter, and the novelty ofwhich will be particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, to be taken as a part of thisspecification, I have fully and clear- 25 ly illustrated a preferredembodiment of my invention, in which drawings- Fig. l is a perspectiveView of air conditioning apparatus of the room-unit type, in which myimprovement is embodied, and showing the unit 30 as installedadjacent awindow and having an outside duct connection extending between the silland the lower sash rail of the window;

Fig. 2 is a-Yvertical transverse sectional View taken on the line 2-2 ofFig. 1, and showing the 35. construction on an enlarged scale;`

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the same pane as Fig. 2and showing a further enlargement of details of my improvement;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 and showing o the outside air damperas being open to'a position preselected by the hand adjustment;

, Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan section taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3;Fig. 6 is a view somewhat similar to Fig. 3 and 45 showing a modifiedform of apparatus, certain elements of the apparatus being shown more orless dagrammatically; and

Fig. '7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 and illustrating a further modifiedform of my improvement.

50 Referring now in detail to the construction illustrated, and moreparticularly to the modification shown in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive, thereference numeral I indicates an air conditioning unit which is adaptedto be arranged adjacent 55 a window II in a room. The unit I0 is of thesame general type as is disclosed and Lclaimed in the copendingapplication of Lambert et al., Serial No. 118,462, filed December 31,1936. I

The unit I0 comprises a. casing I2 having a room air inlet I3 in the topwall and at the rear 5 thereof, and a room air outlet I4 in the top walland at the front thereof. The casing I2 is also provided with an inletopening I which communicates with one open end of a window duct I6, thelatter extending rearwardly and through 10 the opening defined by thepartially opened window II.

The interior of the casing I2 is provided with a U-shaped passage I 'Icommunicating at one end with the inlet openings I3 and I5 and at the 15other end with the room air outlet opening I4. The passage I'I isdefined by the outer walls of the casing and by a substantially verticalpartition means I8 depending from the-top wall of the casing I2 betweenthe inlet and outlet open- 20 ings I3 and I4. 'I'he U-shaped passage I1may be'considered as a part of a main air passage 20 connecting theoutside atmosphereI with the room space, the duet I6 being the -otherpart of said passage 20.

Arranged within the U-shaped passage I1 and at theupper inlet endthereof, is a suitable filter 2| which functions to separate solidparticles, such as dust and pollen, from the entering air. Arrangedbelow the lter is a suitable cooling element, here shown to be in theform of a conventional type of coil 22, through which a suitablerefrigerant fluid is adapted to be circulated in the summer season,andwhich operates to lower the temperature and remove moisture from theair as it flows over the exterior surfaces thereof and through thepassage I1.

At the lower end of the U-shaped passage I'I is arranged a motor-drivenblower 23 which prog vides for the positive ow of air through the pas-40 sage I1 and into the room through the outlet opening I4. Arrangedinthe upper and outlet end of the U-shaped passage I1 is a heatingelement, shown as a conventional type of heating coil 24, through whicha heating fluid, such, for example, as steam or hot water, may becirculated for the purpose of increasing the temperature of the airflowing through the passage during the winter or colder months of theyear.

Atthe upper inlet end of the U-shaped passage I1 and between the inletopening I3 and inlet opening I5, is arranged a damper 25 which in theunit shown functions to regulate the amounts of outdoor air flowing intothe passage I'I through` the inlet opening I5- and room air flowing 55through the inlet opening I3. The damper 25 is pivotally supportedalong' its upper edge as indicated at 26, and is movable about itssupport between two extreme positions, one of which is the positionshown in full lines in Fig. 3, and the other of which is the positionshown in dot-anddash lines in Fig. 3. In the full-line position, theoutdoor inlet I5 is closed and the room air inlet I3 is full open, andall of the air entering the passage I1 will be air from the room throughthe inlet I3. In the position shown in dot-anddash lines, the outdoorair inlet I5 is fully open and the room air inlet I3 is closed, andpractically all of the air entering the passage I1 will be outdoor airthrough the duct I6 and inlet I5. The damper 25 may also be placed atany desired mid position, for example the full-line position in Figs. 2and 4, for the purpose of proportioning the Iamounts of room and freshair entering t\e passage I1.

In accordance with the present invention, I provide a manually operatedmeans which functions to position the damper 25 at either of its extremepositions or at any selected mid position, so that the damper will admitto the passage I1 any desired amount of outdoor air or room air or anydesired proportions of outdoor and room air. To this end, a means isprovided which constantly urges the damper toward the extreme positionto admit all outdoor air into the passage I1; and a hand-adjustable stopdevice is provided which limits movement of the damper by the urgingmeans to any desired point.

This urging means is here shown as being in the form of a conventionalcoil spring 30 surrounding the hinge pin forming a part of the pivotalsupport 26 of the damper. The stop or limiting device is here shown asbeing a longitudinally movable pull-rod 3|" which extends through anelongated opening 32 in the upper front part of the duct I6 and isslidably supported at its rear by a suitable bracket 33. The extremerear part of the rod 3| is provided with a slot 34 which receives a pin35 carried by one end of a link 36. The other end of the link 3S isconnected to the damper 25 by means of a. pin 31 extending through abracket 38, the latter being suitably secured, as by spot welding, tothe damper 25. The forward end of the longitudinally adjustable rod 3Iis provided with a knob 39 which may be grasped by the hand for movingthe rod, and the lower` surface ofthe forward end of the rod 3| isprovided with a plurality ofspaced notches 40, each of which is adaptedto receive the lower defining wall of the opening 32 and hold the rod 3Iat any desired adjusted position.

From the above, it will be apparent that as the spring 30 at all timesurges the damper 25 in a position to open the inlet I5, the pin 35 willengage the right-hand end of the slot 34, and any longitudinal movementof the rod 3| inward or outward will result in the damper 25 being movedto any position preselected by the operator.

In accordance with the present invention, l also provide a mechanism,indicated in general by the reference character 43, which is responsiveto an operating characteristic of an air conditioning element of theunit I0 and operates to close the outdoor air inlet I5 upon a failure inoperation of the conditioning element, and to permit the opening of thedamper 25 to a position preselected by the operator when 'suchconditioning element is in operation. In the construction shown, I haveelected to show the mechanism 43 as acting inv response to temperaturechanges in the heating coil 24.

The mechanism 43 is here shown to be enclosed within a housing 44 whichis suitably secured to the bottom wall of the duct I6, and the mechanism43 is connected to the damper 25 by a suitable link 45 connected at oneend to the pin 31. The mechanism 43 comprises an expansible-contractiblemetallic bellows element 46 anchored at one end to the housing 44 by asuitable bracket 41, and having a rod 48 connecting the other andmovable end of the bellows with the link 45. Opposing the bellows 46 isa coil compression spring 49 which encircles the rod 48 and abuts at oneend the movable end of the bellows 46 and at the other end an adjustablestop 50 carried by an end wall of the housing 44. The interior space ofthe bellows 46 is connected by means of a tube 5I with a thermostaticbulb element 52 suitably disposed above the heating coil 24 and in thepassage I1 and subject to the temperature of the airflowing from saidcoil (see Fig. 2). The element 52, tube 5I, and bellows 43, are adaptedto be charged with any suitable volatile fluid, such, for example, asacetone, alcohol, or the like.

The operation of the mechanism 43 is as follows: When a heating fluid issupplied to the coil v24, the heat transmitted to the bulb element 52increases the vapor 'pressure within the bulb, and this increasedpressure is transmitted through the tube 5I to the bellows 43, the freeend of which moves to the right as viewed in Figs 3, 4 and 5. Thismovement is assisted by the spring 30. Such movement will result in thespring 49 being compressed and the damper 25 being moved to the positionpreselected by the position of the rod 3I. 'If the rod 3I is in theposition to close inlet I5, the damper 25 will remain in such position.Should the supply of heating fluid be shut off from the heating coil 24for any reason, the Vapor in the element 52 will condense, and as aresult the coilspring 49 will move the bellows to the left as viewed inFigs. 2, 3 and 4, and thereby close the damper 25 against the force ofthe spring 30. The closed position of the damper is shown in Fig. 3.

The damper control apparatus heretofore described is particularlyadvantageous in air conl ditioning units of the type disclosed. Forexample, should the heating element fail during the colder season of theyear, the damper 25 will always automatically close the inlet I5 andprevent the flow of cold outside air into the unit. Under suchconditions, the cold air flowing into the unit would create colddraftsin the room. Furthermore, uncontrolled introduction 0f lcold air mightalso damage the unit, due to thel freezing of water in the heating coil24, or similar damage to any other elements ofthe unit containing water.This feature is particularly useful, because of the fact that the supplyof heating fluid to a building is usually shut off during the night timewhen the occupant is either asleep the rod 3| may be readily changed dueto the slot 34'and pin 35; and, when heat is again supplied to the coil24, the damper 25 will open to the new position selected by the operator5 With heating uid in the coil 24, the position of the damper may bereadily changed to any desired point by simply lifting the rod 3| sothat the particular notch 40 which is in engagement with the bottom ofthe slot 32 is disengaged, and then moving the rod 3| in or out to anyposition desired by the operator. When there is heat in the coil, inwardmovement of the rod will be against the force exerted by the vaporpressure in the bellows 46 and the force of the spring 30, l5 andoutward movement of the rod will be in the' same direction as the forceexerted by the vaporI the slot 1l. With the rod 3| a and damper 25a inthe position to close the inlet |5a, shown in Fig. 6, the damper 26awill merely be held closed by the mechanism 43a. Were the rod 3|aadjusted so that the damper a would be in a preselected 5 open position,the expanding of the bellows in the manner just described would resultin the pin 14 engaging the end of the slot 15 and pulling the link a anddamper 25a to the left and thereby closing the inlet |5a. With the partsin 10 the latter position, when heating iiuid is again supplied to thecoil 24a; the thermostat 1| will open the circuit 12 and thereby allowthe vapor in the element 68 to condense, and the spring 30a on thedamper hinge pin will move the damper to l5 the position preselected bythe rod 3| a.

pressure and the spring 30. As the force of t e Fro he above, it will beapparent that the spring 49 partially balances the force exerte peratofl the construction shown in Fig. 6

by the vapor pressure in the bellows 46 and the 20 force of the spring30, the inward manual movement of the rod will produce no difficulty. Asthe iiuid in the vbellows 46 when expanding and the spring 30 exert astronger force than the spring 49, the damper will readily follow any 25outward movement of the rod. 3|.

The modiied construction shown in Fig. 6 performs the same usefulfunctions as the apparatus previously` described. In Fig. 6 theconnection between the rod 3|a and the damper 25a is slightly different,and the construction and operation of the mechanism 43a are alsodiierent. 'I'he damper 25a is connected to the rod 3Ia by a link 36a,one end of which Ais connected to a sleeve encircling the rod 3|a andslidable between pins 6| and 62 fixed to the rod 3|a. The link 36a isconnected at its other end to a pin 31a carried by a U-shaped member 63,and the latter is connected to the-damper 25a by a pin 64 andcompression spring 65. The pin 64 is 'Qq fixed at one end to the damper25a and extends loosely through an opening in the member 63. Thecompression spring encircles the pin 64 and abuts at one end a washer 66on the` outer end of the pin 64 and at the other end the member 63. Themember 63, pin '64 and spring 65 .provide a lost-motion connectionbetween the link 36a and the damper 25a with the spring tending to takeup the lost motion. This connection permits the rod 3 la to be movedinwardly la' against` the force of the spring 65 after the damper isclosed. On account of this, extreme accuracy in the design of the partsis not necessary, as theforward notch 40a can be placed at any placewithin the length of travel offthe u spring 65 and the damper can beclosed and held closed bythe spring 65.

The mechanism 43a comprises a bell crank lever 61, an expansible bellows46a, an electric heating element 68, links 69 and 45a connecting theouter end of one arm 10 of the lever 61 with the pin 31a of the member63, a contact thermostat 1| and an electrical circuit indicated at 12.The link 69 slidably lits within a sleeve portion 13 formed on theadjacent end of the link 5 45a, and a, pin 14 carried bythe end of thelink 69 slides within a slot 15 formed in the portion 13. When thesupply of heating iiuid tothe coil 24a is shut oi, the thermostat 1|acts `to close y the electrical circuit 12 and energize the heatingelement 68 and thereby expand the uld in the element 68, the connectingtube Sla and bellows 46a. Expansion of the bellows results in movementof the lever 61 counterclockwise about a xed pivotal support ,indicatedat 11,' and the x movement of the pin 14 to the left-hand end oij ubstlly the same as that of the previously described construction. It willbe observed, how- 20 ever, that due to the pin and slot connectionbetween the links 69 and 45a, the damper 25a may be closed at any timeby the rod 3|a without compressing the bellows 46. The latter might beconsidered as being an advantage over the con- 25 struction previouslydescribed.

The construction shown in Fig. 7 of the drawings is somewhat the same asthat shown in Fig. 6, ywith the exception that in Fig. 7 the position ofthe lever 61h is reversed, and the damper 25h 30 vis closed due to theaction of a tension spring instead of the bellows 46h. The spring 80 isanchored at one end, as indicated at 8|, and is connected at its otherend to the lever 61h. The spring is stronger than the spring'30b, and 35hence the damper 25h will be closed when the uid in the bellows 46b iscontracted. In the latter respect, the operation 'of Fig. 7 is similarto that of Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive. In Fig. 7, when a heating duid issupplied tothe coil 24h, the 40 circuit 12b is closed by the thermostat1| b and the fluid in the element 68h, tube 5|b and bellows 46h isexpanded, with the result that the lever 61h will be moved clockwise andthe link 69h to' the right, thereby permitting the spring 30h to 45 uidis cut olf from the coil 24h, the circuit 12b is broken, and the duid inthe element 68h will condense and thereby permit the spring 66 to 50move Vthe lever 69h to the position shown in the drawings, which is theclosed position of the y damper 25h. The construction shown in Fig. 7has the advantage over the construction 4shown in Fig. 6, in that it isnot necessary to depend on 'i6 the continuous flow of electricity in thecircuit the damper closed; and, therefore, in case of failure. of thecurrent supply, the. damper will automatically close. Also, in Fig. '7,the damper 25h may be adjusted when heat is 60 supplied to the coil 24hwithout having to compress the bellows 46h.

In each of the mbdiflcations described above, there is shown a mechanismwhich will close the damper when the conditioning element fails tomlloperate, and which will permit the damper to be opened when theAconditioning element is operating. Also, there is shown a manuallyadjustable means for positioning theV damperl at any preselected pointso as to admit any desired 70 amount of outdoor air or proportions ofoutdoor air and room air into the passage |1.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United Statesis:

1. Air conditioning apparatus for room spaces 75 comprising meansdeiining an air passage adapted to communicate at one end with theoutdoor atmosphere and at its other end with the room spaces; blowermeans providing for the positive iiow of outdoor air through saidpassage and into the room spaces; means for changing the temperature ofthe outdoor air as it flows through said passage so as to maintain theroom temperature at a comfortable value; a damper in said passage andmovable between open-and closed positions to control the iiow of outdoormeans is provided for returning said damper to a preselected openposition upon a resumption in operation of said temperature-changingmeans.

3. Air conditioning apparatus for room spaces comprising means definingan air passage adapted to be communicatively connected at one end withthe outdoor atmosphere and at its other end with the room spaces; blowermeans providing for the positive flow of outdoor air through saidpassage and into the room spaces; meansA for changing the temperature ofthe outdoor ai as it flows through said passage so as to maintain theroom temperature at a comfortable value; a damper in said passage andmovable between open and closed positions to control the flow of outdoorair over the temperature-changing means; means for constantly urgingsaid damper towards its full open position where the maximum amount ofoutdoor air ilows over said temperature-changing means; a manuallyadjustablc stop device for limiting opening movement of said damper bysaid urging means to any one of a number of preselected open positionsso as to predetermine the amount of outdoor air owing over thetemperature-changing means; and means directly responsive to theoperation of said temperature-changing means and operable upon a failurein operation of said temperature-changing means to move said damperagainst the force of said urging means and from .its preselected openposition to its fully closed y position.

'and second inlet openings with said outlet opening; blower meansproviding for the positive flow of air through said passage; means forchanging the temperature of the air as it Hows through said passage soas to maintain the temperature of the room spaces at a comfortablevalue; a damper movable between open and closed positions to control theamount of outdoor air flowing into said passage through said secondinlet opening; manually operated means for positioning said damper atany one of a number of selected open positions so as to predetermine theamount of outdoor air flowing over said temperature-changing means andinto said room spaces; and means directly responsive to the operation ofsaid temperature-changing means for closing said damper from itspreselected open position upon a failure in operation of saidtemperature-changing means.

5. Air conditioning apparatus comprising a casing adapted to be arrangedWithin a room and adjacent a window opening communicating with theoutdoor atmosphere; said casing having a first inlet opening forreceiving room air, a second inlet opening for receiving outdoor air,and an outlet opening for discharging air into the room space; a ductconnecting said second inlet opening with the outdoor atmosphere throughsaid window opening; means in said casing defining an air passageconnecting said rst and second inlet openings with said outlet opening;blower means providing for the positive ow of air through said rst andsecond inlet openings, said passage, and into the room through saidoutlet opening; means arranged within said passage for changing thetemperature o f the air flowing therethrough so as to maintain the roomtemperature at a comfortable value; a damper movable between open andclosed positions .for controlling the amount of outdoor air flowingthrough said passage and over the temperaturechanging means; means forconstantly urging said damper toward its full open position;handoperated mechanism for limiting movement of the damper in an openingdirection to any one of a number of selected'open positions so as topredetermine the amount of outdoor air flowing over saidtemperature-changing means and into the room space; and means directlyresponsive to the operation of said temperature-changing means forclosing said damper against the force of said urging means when saidtemperaturechanging means is inoperative and permitting said urgingmeans to move said damper to a position preselected by saidhand-operated mechanism when said temperature-changing means isoperating.

6. Air conditioning apparatus comprising a casing structure adapted tobe arranged within a room space and having a rst inlet opening forreceiving room air, a second inlet opening for receiving outdoor air,and an outlet opening for discharging air into the room space; meansinsaid casing structure defining an air passage connecting both of saidinlet openings with said outlet opening; blower means providing for thepositive flow of air through said passage and into the room space; meansin said passage for changing the temperature of the air iiowingtherethrough'so as to maintain the room temperature at a comfortablevalue; a damper for proportioning the amounts of room and outdoor airentering said passage and being movable between two extreme positions,one of which provides for the entrance of only room air into saidpassage through said first inlet opening and the other of which providesfor the entrance of only outdoor air into said passage through saidsecond inlet opening; manually operated means for placingy said Ldamperat either of its two extreme positions and at any one of a number ofpreselected mid positions; and means directly responsive to theoperation of said temperaturechanging means and operable to move saiddamper from its preselected mid position to that extreme position whichprevents the ventrance of outdoor air upon a failure in operation ofsaid temperature-changing means.

7. Air conditioning apparatus comprising a casing adapted to be arrangedin a room space and having a rst inlet opening for receiving room air, asecond inlet opening for receiving outdoor air, and an outlet openingfor discharging air into the room space; means in said casing dening anair passage connecting both of said inlet openings with said outletopening; blower means providing for the positive flow of air throughsaid passage; means in said passage for changing the temperature of theair owing therethrough so as to maintain the room temperature at acomfortable value; a damper for proportioning the amounts of room andfresh air entering said .passage and being movable between two extremepositions, one of which provides for the entrance of only room air intosaid passage through said rst inlet opening, and the other of whichprovides for the entrance of only outdoor air into said passage throughsaid second inlet opening; means for constantly urging said dampertoward that extreme position which admits only outdoor air;hand-operated mechanism for limiting the movement of said damper by saidurging means to any one of a number of preselected mid positions; andmeans acting in opposition to the force of said urging means andproviding for movement of said damper to that extreme position whichadmits only room air when said temperature-changing means becomesinoperative, and permitting said urging means to move the damper to apreselected mid position when said temperature-changing means isoperating.

8. Air conditioning apparatus for room spaces comprising means definingan air passage adapted to communicate at one end with the outdooratmosphere and at its other end with the room spaces; blower meansproviding for the positive ow of outdoor air through said passage andinto the room space; means for changing the temperature of the outdoorair as it flows through said passage so as to maintain the roomtemperature at a comfortable value; a damper vin said passage andmovable between open and closed positions to control the flow of outdoorair over the temperature-changing means; means for constantly urgingsaid damper toward its full open position; hand-operated mechanism forlimiting movement of said damper by said urging means to any one of anumber of selected open positions; a spring device for closing saiddamper against the force exerted by said urging means from a preselectedopen position; and means for rendering said spring device inoperativewhen said temperature-changing means is operating, and permitting saidspring device to close said damper from a preselected open position whensaid temperature-changing means becomes inoperative,

9. Air conditioning apparatus for room spaces comprising means definingan air passage adapted to communicate at one end with the outdooratmosphere and at its other end with the room spaces; blower meansproviding for the positive flow of outdoor air through said passage andinto the room spaces; a damper in said passage and movable between openand closed positions for controlling the amount of outdoor air flowingthrough said passage; means in said passage for changing the temperatureof the outdoor air flowing therethrough so as to maintain the roomtemperature at a comfortable value; means for constantly urging saiddamper toward its fully open position; hand-operated mechanism forlimiting opening movement of said damper to any one of a number ofselected 'open positions so as to predetermine the amount of outdoor airowing over said temperaturechanging means; a spring device for closingsaid damper against the force exerted by said urging means; and anexpansible uid device responsive to the temperature of thetemperature-changing means and opposing said spring device and operableto render the latter inoperative when said temperature-changing means isoperating, and permitting said spring device to close said damper from apreselected open position and against the force of said urging meanswhen said temperature-changing means becomes inoperative.

MATSON C. TERRY.

